July 15, 2014

Weekend adventure to Mackinaw City

We decided to head up to Mackinaw City on Saturday even though the weather looked iffy.

We stopped on the way up at Hobby Lobby where I wanted to find some palm
branches for an idea I had for the fireplace. I'll show you what I
found next time.

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Then we stopped at a classic tourist spot called "Sea Shell City"

I have to tell you we have driven right on by that place for years and years and years thinking it would be full of just the cheapest touristy stuff but last year we finally stopped in there and found it they had some nice stuff.

They have signs along the highway like this to lure you in. Of course any normal person would avoid this but who said I was normal!

I found an article on the internet by Roadside America while I was waiting for my pictures to load that explains how this place opened in 1957 (the year I was born- what a good one!) and hasn't changed since! It was before Interstate I75 was in place. That owner was a smart one though because the Mackinac Bridge was under construction and opened in late 1957 so I'm sure he knew that this location would become a convenient stop off.

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Here is the famous Shell...not as big as I expected but I guess what can happen is the shell has been known to close down on a person's foot causing them to drown. Last year when we stopped for the first time I was working on a sea chest in the guest room and needed some accessories. They have sponges, fish nets, oodles of shells from all over the world and more.

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I liked this big sea shell wreath but I was being careful on expenses so I promised myself to come back another time to see if it's still there. I have a spot in mind in my mini family room for it.

I selected a small hunk of sea coral to put in my nautical display cabinet and a frame with seashells formed around the outer edge for a small picture.

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Mackinaw City has a main drag with ample parking and lots and lots of small stores. I'm not sure how it all got going but this area and Mackinaw Island are known for fudge so of course we had to buy some! This area is part of the Mackinac Crossings which is like a village of stores that winds and weaves around off the main drag. I posted something about this more than once and one was "here". There was a live band playing- they are hidden under the red striped roof there on the right where there's a large stage. Makes you feel happy to hear and probably increases the length of time people hang around and shop! The heavy cloud cover stayed with us all day but we never saw any rain until late that night.

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They had these planters all around and it made me think of some of you creative bloggers and how you could turn a crate into a planter if you wanted! There is a liner I could see inside the holes which looked like landscape fabric. I'm guessing that they poked holes in the liner and just planted the flowers in them. In another month or so I bet these will look real cute. I see mums growing in the back so this will carry through to the fall nicely.

5 comments:

Oh my goodness. This will have to be on my checklist of cities we visit here in MI. There are so many fun places. My sister and her hubby took us to Cadillac yesterday as wanted to go to Walmart. We enjoyed a delicious breakfast at a restaurant (I can't remember the name though) but we had a gorgeous view of the lake. A beautiful day to go shopping. I will have to visit Mackinaw City as I'm dressing up the grandkids room in a Nautical theme. Thanks for sharing and it looks like you had fun!! :) -Bev

What a totally fun weekend outing! I would have loved to tag along! This is the 2nd best thing to see it on your blog!

Plastic crates as planters...what a great idea! I never would have considered it, but it makes sense!!! I'm sure I'll never be that adventurous, but I love to experience the creativity and skill of others!

ABOUT ME

Welcome to Home and Gardening With Liz. I have combined my previous blogs “Infuse With Liz” and “Sit With Me In My Garden” into this new blog. I love interior decorating and gardening. I enjoy redefining interior spaces by moving things around and reusing decorative items already found in the home. I also enjoy creating tablescapes and an occasional crafting project. I'm so pleased you've stopped by. I invite you to follow me and I do hope you will keep coming back!
Liz